Punishing a Prat
by Mrsfillylover
Summary: A series of drabbles and one-shots about Arthur's childhood. Rating may change. Newest chapter: no. 4 Summary: We know Arthur's childhood can't have been easy with Uther as a father but when Arthur did act out (in Uther's eyes) what happened?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Why, hello again! Welcome to my new series of Arthur drabbles and short-stories! "Punishing the Prat" seemed a fitting title for this as nearly all of the chapters involve Uther punishing Arthur because for some reason I have a thing for that *shrugs*. Each story in here is either too short to be a one-shot or just didn't have enough plot behind it to be continued. In that way, this will be very much like my other story Nico, Nico, Nico.**

Only 224 words in this chapter so I'll call it two and a bit of a drabble. Normally it'll be longer but this is the one where Arthur is youngest so it's going first.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin****

AGE 9

"No!" Arthur grabbed his father's arm in an attempt to hold him back. It was futile, of course, he being only a nine year-old boy and his father a grown man.

Uther turned his blazing eyes on the prince, making no effort to conceal his fury. The strong arm Arthur was clinging to so desperately was jerked free of his grasp sending him sprawling to the floor.

"Please, father," said the child in an attempt to regain favour with the man towering above him, using the respect called for as his tool. "Let him stay, I-I won't leave again, I'll stay in the castle. Just let him stay."

The note of choked desperation in his last word was what changed a concerned request into a fearful plea. Slowly, painfully slowly, the king turned back to his son, the fire in his eyes dying down a fraction.

"I will allow Sir Leon to keep his position as a knight of Camelot under one condition."

"Anything," said Arthur, innocent brown eyes gazing up attentively into his father's cold steely grey ones.

"You will give me your word that you will remain within the castle grounds unless you have express permission from me." Knowing his father would hold him to his word, Arthur nodded morosely, hoping he wouldn't be separated from the rest of the city completely.

**A/N If there's anything in particular you want me to add in make sure you let me know in a REVIEW or PM so I can try it out. Also, if you feel the need to shower me with praise the review button is not inaccessible.**

HA! Shower _**me**_** with praise? Yeah, right!**

What I should say is, flame to your heat's content and I won't report you!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin**

"Arthur Pendragon, get off that horse this instant!"

'Oh no'. It was all Arthur had time to do; think two words, before the red adorned figure of his father was directly in front of him.

"Dismount," he said slowly, daring his son to disobey. With no small amount of trepidation, the prince swung himself off the horse's bare back and to the ground. Arthur kept his eyes on his boots while the weight of his father's stare bore into the top of his head. "What were you thinking of? That horse is positively wild!"

Arthur looked up, hurt written across his face. "No she isn't! Llamreigh is perfectly fine!"

The king raised an eyebrow disbelievingly, "Llamreigh? You've named it?"

"She. She's a mare. And I'm keeping her."

Uther snorted in disbelief, "And what makes you think you'll be doing that? I will not have the Prince of Camelot getting himself killed over some old nag."

"Llamriegh is NOT a nag! She's bred for battle, all she needs is a little training."

"Not from you. You won't be seeing this horse again."

"Father! You can't do this!"

The king raised an eyebrow at his son, "Actually, I believe i can."

Uther turned his attention to a nearby stable boy, "You, take this horse back to the stable. And you three," he gestured to a handfull of the guards stationed around the courtyard, "ensure Arthur makes it back into the castle."

Quick as lightning, Arthur launched himself back onto the mare and urged Llamreigh into a gallop. The young pair charged across the courtyard and turned towards the lower town making to escape the surrounding circle of onlookers. What he hadn't anticipated was that the guards would move to block his path as soon as he mounted. Both prince and mare came to a screeching halt as the red and gold clad figures formed a solid line, spear tips bristling over their heads. Arthur whipped his head around wildly, searching for a new way out. A guard stepped up beside the prince and pulled him to the ground.

"What's going on here?" asked an innocent voice from behind. Unoticed by the two royals and their guards, Morgana had arrived on the scene, dressed in black riding pants and a simple, grey, cotton shirt. Strapped to her side was a sword. A sword that looked suspiciously like Arthur's.

"Morgana, what on Earth do you think you're doing?"

The young girl had expected an outburst for the entire afternoon, what with her attire and chosen activities. "Well you see," she said slowly, as though talking to a confused child, "this is called a horse, this is called a sword, and these are called breeches."

Arthur's jaw dropped upon hearing Morgana's words. If he had said something like that Uther would've had him escorted to his chambers or, if he was in a particularly bad mood, dragged to the dungeons.

"We've discussed this," said Uther tiredly, "you are a lady of the court, ride if you will but at least side-saddle, and as for sword fighting... i cannot allow it."

Morgana sighed wistfully (to Arthur it was clearly an act) and dismounted her white gelding. "But, sire," her voice practically oozed longing, playing on Uther's heart strings, "don't you want me to be able to defend myself? What if i was out for a ride one day and was abmushed? I might not be able to get away fast enough if I was side-saddle and if I had no choice but to fight, what would I do without training?"

Much to the prince's surprise, Uther slowly nodded. "Father-"

The king held up a hand to silence him, "She's quite right, Arthur. I must ensure that Morgana is able to defend herself. I will arrange for Sir Hector to begin training immediately. As for you, that horse will be ridden by its trainers only, I don't want you anywhere near it."

With that, Uther turned back towards the steps and left, leaving a dumb-struck son and a smug ward in his wake.

"Well," said Morgana, smirking, "I believe that's one point for me." She turned on her heel and skipped off, her black braid flapping against her back.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N This one is definitely my favorite so far! Let me know what you think in a REVIEW or PM**

disclaimer: I do not own Merlin****

AGE 12

Arthur tried to stop but the slick floor failed to give him the traction he so desperately needed. Arms flailing wildly, he skidded several feet down the corridor, Caval not far behind. The pair slid headlong into a wooden end table housing a delicate glass case in which sat a single pearl necklace. His mother's.

_**Crash!**_

The collision spat pearls and shards of glass in every direction, narrowly missing the small animal. Throwing his arms up to shield his eyes, Arthur fell onto his back alongside his dog. Before he quite knew what was happening, the doors swung open and a knight marched through. It was only when the red and gold clad figure hoisted him onto his feet that the prince recognized him. Goy. This particular knight had never been fond of Arthur, especially not since the young prince had slipped past him to go for a midnight ride without even raising suspicion. Gripping the collar of his red jacket tightly, Goy hauled Arthur into the council chambers and held him still in front of the king. The prince hung his head, looking around only when he heard the soft padding of Caval's paws as he trotted to Arthur's feet.

As the small dog neared the prince, Goy kicked out; sending Caval sprawling several feet away.

"Hey!" Arthur yelled indignantly, "leave him alone!"

"Enough," Uther snapped, "It's only a dog, nothing more nothing less."

Struggling against the knight's rigid fingers, Arthur glared at his father, "He's MY dog, no one can-"

"Someone get that thing out of here," ordered the king, effectively cutting off the rest if his son's words.

"I think it would be best if Arthur no longer kept pets." A servant boy emerged from the back wall to hurriedly scoop Caval up off the floor and swiftly exited the room.

"Hey!" Arthur yelled again, "You can't just take him away from me! Caval's MINE!"

Uther gazed at him coldly, "Do not try to tell me what I can and cannot do, Arthur. If you wished to keep... Caval," at the name a note of distain entered his voice, "you should not have been spending your day causing trouble. I will not repeat the same mistake I made with that ridiculous nag of yours."

"Llamrei is not a nag!" Arthur protested, "And I wasn't causing trouble! If you would just-"

"Escort my son to his rooms and ensure he stays there, I will deal with him later." Arthur gulped, he knew that voice. That was the voice that had heralded all of his past punishments. His struggling died out abruptly at a sharp look from his father and the prince allowed himself to be gripped under the arm and pulled away.

**A/N Reviews are candy for the soul!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Just one of the many times I think Arthur would have tried to do something good and end up in trouble**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin**

**AGE 13**

* * *

"Sire, we caught this one lurking around the quarantined area, he was trying to smuggle food to the infected."

"Did he succeed?" Uther asked absently.

"No, sire."

"Then let him go, I have more important things to attend to than unsuccessful trespassing."

"Sire, it appears to be the same food that went missing from the stores, there may be a hole in our security."

The king snorted, "And what gives you that impression?"

"He's a child."

At this Uther turned around to face the guard and the supposed 'criminal' he had apprehended. The king frowned at the sight of the young boy hanging his head; all he could see of the child was his blond hair and dusty clothing. "Look at me, child." The young boy raised his head to glare at the king; he raised his chin defiantly and straightened his posture as the pair locked eyes.

"Take him to his chambers, ensure he doesn't leave."

"Sire?"

"This is my son, take him to his chambers."

-(-)-

Arthur was furious with himself. How could he have been so stupid? Even though he had had the sense to change from his everyday finery to worn travel clothes and to make sure there was nowhere else he was supposed to be at the time of his 'crime', he had placed his trust in too many 'hopefullies' rather than certainties. Instead of a guard who knew who he was and would believe that it was just 'the wide-eyed prince following guards around again', as he had heard one of the knights say during one of his other escapades, he had encountered an entire party of the newly employed ones he knew had been appointed earlier that week. And, with all of the guard's superiors in the vicinity of the king, Arthur had been consequently brought directly to his father.

Every moment of the walk from the gates of the quarantine to the grounds where the king was going over defensive strategies was torture for Arthur. Once his captor had led him to the first knight he knew he was in deep trouble. It was Sir Oswald that Arthur was brought before at first, the knight had only leered down at the boy whose arm was clutched tightly in the guard's grip and pointed the guard in the direction of the king without a word. Every knight who turned to glance at the pair on their way to Uther had one of two reactions: either they would shake their heads sympathetically, or glare disapprovingly.

Reaching his father had been the worst part. Arthur had spent the majority of the exchange examining his boots until he had finally been ordered to look at Uther. He had somehow been able to summon up the last of his pride and projected it through a hot glare directed at his father.

And now, unspent anger welling up inside him, thirteen year old Arthur slammed his fists down on his large, oak, desk. It accomplished nothing, of course, except for a satisfying thump as the contents of the drawers clattered around, and his inkpot toppling off the corner of the wooden surface and smashing on the stone floor, leaving his quill sticky with black ink. Moments later the door opened and in came his father, hands clasped neatly behind his back and a closed look masking the fury Arthur knew the king must be feeling.

"Arthur..." Uther began only to be interrupted by his son.

"I don't see how you can blame me." Arthur said loudly. "How was I supposed to just sit back and watch, father? How was I supposed to ignore my people while they starve?"

"They aren't your people, Arthur. Not yet." The cold look in Uther's eyes spoke quite clearly to Arthur, it was the same look Uther gave him when he wanted to go on patrols with the knights. The one that plainly said, 'you are nothing but a child'.

"They're as good as! And while they were under quarantine they were helpless! No one would send them food, or medicine, or anything that might help. No one could, not with your rules!"

"It was for the good of the entire kingdom! If the sickness were to spread-"

"Then someone could have thrown it over the barricade! Starving an entire street is barbaric, it's cruel, surely you must know this!"

"I will not waste good food on the dying, Arthur," Uther growled out. "One day you will understand. For now, I want you to open the book you were supposed to be studying and continue your work."

"You want me to just continue my day as it was before? Pretending I don't care that I could help those people?"

"I don't want you to, Arthur, I'm ordering you to."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin**

AGE 14

* * *

Standing at the window in his spacious chambers, the prince of Camelot was cheery for the first time in a good long while. Today was his birthday and nothing, Arthur was sure, would tarnish his mood. In his excitement for the day ahead he had risen early, dressed, and gotten the meager amount of paper work he was expected to do out of the way before his servant was due to arrive with breakfast.

A knock at the door shook the prince out of his reverie. The sound of the door opening without permission had the prince's brow furrowing in confusion. Who would enter his room before being given an answer? Who would- oh, that's who.

The intruder was revealed to be his own father.

"Where's William?" Arthur asked curiously, referring to his manservant.

"He won't be coming, there's a young man from the lower town coming to attend to you."

"I'm quite happy to keep William-"

"Well I'm not. It is high time that you left your old... 'friends' behind. You're fourteen now, causing trouble at every given opportunity will not be tolerated anymore."

"As if it ever was..." Arthur muttered dryly.

"Enough, Arthur. You need to wake up from this dream of yours, you are prince of Camelot and through all the years of your life you don't seem to have realised this."

"But father-"

"No, and that is all that'll be said about it."

Bowing his head stiffly, Arthur turned on his heel and marched out of his room and passed his father.

The prince was halfway out the door when Uther suddenly spoke, "He's only a servant, Arthur, nothing more."


End file.
